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Saturday, March 20, 2010

Book Review: Girls Gone Wise

I recently had the opportunity to read Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild by Mary Kassian. In this book, Kassian takes the reader through Proverbs 7, and contrasts 20 characteristics of the Girl Gone Wild with the characteristics of a Girl Gone Wise. The Girl Gone Wild is manipulative, undisciplined, self-indulgent, and is hunting for a man. The Girl Gone Wise is self disciplined and giving. Her desire is to serve others, to be productive, and to glorify God. She lets the Lord determine her steps; she lets Him direct her love story. A wild woman does not care for the ways of the Lord. Her heart is not set on Him, but a wise woman has her heart set on the Lord. He is central in her life.

The Girl Gone Wild is so common today. We see her wildness everywhere - on television, in the movies, at school, down the street, and in the magazines. Because we are so accustomed to seeing wildness all around us we can quickly become desensitized to the wildness that is deep in our own hearts and lives. However, as Kassian points out, there is a certain amount of wildness in each of us. Her desire is to help the reader be discerning and able to distinguish between wild versus wise behavior. She encourages women to be wise in their thoughts and actions and to have a godly perspective on womanhood. She wants her female reader to be a Girl Gone Wise in a world gone wild.

One of my favorite chapters was about appearance. Kassian takes an approach to this topic that I rarely hear or read about. She goes beyond just saying that women should dress modestly so that men aren’t tempted to sin with their thoughts; she gets to the main reason for appropriate clothing. She takes the reader back to Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve sinned, felt ashamed, and tried to make clothes to hide their nakedness. Their sin made them guilty, vulnerable and exposed, so God provided clothing for them. The shame that we have in our fallen condition demands a covering. Clothing does not remove our shame, but it does declare that we are fallen and need to be redeemed. We need Christ’s blood to cover our sins. Our clothing bears witness to this, and it also points to a future time when all believers will be clothed with imperishable garments (Revelation3:5).

Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild is an appropriate book for all women, whether young or old, married or single. Christian women will be encouraged to go against the culture, to be godly, and live wisely in this world that wants us to be wild. This is definitely a book to read, keep in your library, and share with others. I encourage you to read it for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

I received a copy of Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild from Moody Publishers via NetGalley. The book will be available in bookstores on April 1, 2010.

In answer to your question, we must do our best to teach girls and women and to train them according to God's Word. We can also pray for them. But it is only the Lord who can convict and change lives. And each woman is responsible before the Lord for her behavior, be it wild or wise.